The trailers for the two upcoming animated Treks have revealed lots and nothing as you would expect from 4 minutes of sneak peaks.
With the Nickelodeon co-produced Prodigy there are a few key points worth focusing on. First it looks like at least the first episode is going to more heavily focus on Dal (voiced by Brett Gray) and his ‘escape’ from a mining planet accompanied by a rag tag band of kids. In the promo material so far though there has been more occasion to place Gwyn (Ella Purnell) front and centre but this now doesn’t seem to be the case. I was also intrigued by a note that another reviewer posted recently that if the series is set in the Delta Quadrant how come there's a Medusan and a Tellarite present?
Aside from announcing that there’s a big new adventure ahead, the clips for Prodigy are, surprisingly underwhelming except for a further two moments. Firstly there’s the huge reveal of the USS Protostar, NX-76884. How this has ended up crashed in the Delta Quadrant remains a series secret but we do get to see it flying high and fast. While I could spend three hours debating the angle of the warp nacelles, the design is strongly 24th Century Starfleet with the more pointed primary hull coupled with an engine configuration similar to the Enterprise-E. Check out the huge glass dome over the bridge right on the top.
We do get a glimpse of the inside of that gleaming, expansive bridge but aside from a huge view screen and a snip of a captain’s chair and centre console it’s fleeting at best. Spot also to the left of the picture what appears to be the body of a Starfleet officer slumped over the console (red uniform). The main seating seems to be pushed forward on this ship with the rear of the bridge dipping away as indicated through the steps.
Finally there’s the voice over by Kate Mulgrew announcing that return of Captain Janeway although it’s only over a black screen so we don’t get to see her physical (animated) return just yet… certainly something fans will be clammering for if we have any more trailers to come.
Over on Lower Decks there’s more to get our teeth into. As with the first season it looks like the screen will be packed out with franchise references. Whether it's the return of the space suits from First Contact, grumpy Nausicaans or killer robots, the new series looks to have just about everything.
There's even Rutherford decalling a model starship not unlike many fans out in the world right now. But again there are some real key points to take note of. One is the potential inclusion of the Borg as well as the return of Jonathan Frakes' Will Riker on the Titan (since that's where we last saw Boimler). The addition of a Tamarian Security Chief is a sublime stroke of brilliance (see Darmok) that is set to be more fully explored in the second episode of the new run. The biggest secret that seems to have been held back until now is the appearance of one Thomas Eugene Paris in the form of a USS Voyager commemorative plate that is also available in the real world.
Prodigy will be aiming for a more "serious" approach to its storytelling and potential offer something faster paced and (obviously) more youth friendly. O the two Lower Decks for me is easily the more exciting and enticing offering coming our way this year. The trailer offers more of the same slightly unhinged and self-effacing humour we came to expect is season one. No sign of Okona or Ensign Sonia Gomez in the teaser but then again we only have just about two weeks left to wait...!
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